Take Me Anywhere
by RioSensei
Summary: When the line between friendship and romance is crossed. After several difficult months, the choice to move forward remains. Special Act, yuri.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer Note: PGSM isn't mine. This fic is rated for strong sexual (yuri) content in later chapters. 

Take Me Anywhere

----

_ Filled to the brim with amusement as she plucked a small, but perfectly hand-made rice ball from the container settled closely between them, Minako couldn't help but tease._

_"I wasn't expecting such an adorable meal, Rei," she baited, an overly-amused expression smeared across her features. "I'm surprised I've never caught onto all your dark secrets by now."_

_Sipping scornfully at her small box of juice, the miko sitting beside her gave an indignant snort in response. "That's absurd. I've been studying practically non-stop for this entire week." She denied quite fervently, "When would I ever find the time to slave away in the kitchen?"_

_Gazing absently at the skyline above the Hikawa shrine, Minako fought to keep the threatening onslaught of giggles at bay. "I can just imagine the scene," she exclaimed with a smirk, "Hino Rei preparing such a cute, delicious lunch into the late hours of twilight with that particular scowl on her face. If only to celebrate her upcoming graduation with her charming best friend, of course."_

_"Never once have I considered you so delusional," Rei countered, barely managing not to choke on her juice. "Obviously, I was mistaken."_

_"If you say so," Minako smiled, waving around a small, adorable cookie in the shape of a tiny star._

_Sighing with a great degree of familiar long-suffering, the miko leaned back and gave a grateful smile to the warm, beautiful afternoon weather. The small garden nestled behind the shrine was a perfect choice for a picnic location, it's grounds hidden enough for a great breadth of privacy._

_"In spite of your favorite past-time in embarrassing me, Minako, I'm glad you were able to visit," Rei admitted slowly, looking down at the faded green of her tennis shoes. "I know your schedule's been so confining lately."_

_Minako's smile at the admission was gentle as she openly studied the other girl, Rei absently picking at the blades of grass beside her._

_"Well, I did have a slight ulterior motive."_

----

Mizuno Ami sighed as her tiny rental car pulled around the parking lot for the third consecutive time.

"It doesn't look like we're going to have any luck," Makoto grumbled from the passenger seat. With a deep sigh, she crossed her arms in frustration.

"Maybe we should've taken the bus," Ami agreed, noting the impatient wiggling of Usagi behind her.

"Perhaps if you drive back to the entrance, I can run inside and bring Rei-chan back to the car?" Leaning over in her seat, Minako put a comforting hand on Ami's arm. "I'm sure she'd be a little embarassed if we all rush her at once, don't you think?"

Makoto nodded in agreement, looking over to the driver as well. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

Nodding firmly in acknowledgement, Ami pulled the tiny car back around to the entrance. Squeezing carefully out of the cramped vehicle, Minako adjusted her trusty disguise of sunglasses and fashionable cap and headed briskly into the building.

----

Perched anxiously on the edge of the narrow hospital bed, Hino Rei cautiously picked at the edges of her face bandage. Gingerly prying the fabric away from her eye, she could almost imagine the nurse's dissaproving stare as she tossed aside the unwanted roll of cloth into the bedside waste bin.

Looking down at the harsh white tiles under her feet, the unlucky young woman stifled back a grimace. Despite her studies and ardorous work during Rei's recent time spent in Kyoto, it seemed she still hadn't grown much. She had managed to misjudge the threat of returning evil forces, and had successfully accomplished not only sending herself into the hospital, but also proving her uselessness to the others in their struggle. The guilt pricked sharply at her pride, and the miko wasn't quite sure just how she would look at the others with a straight face ever again.

Sliding off her seat on the bed, Rei wandered over to the small table beside the windows. Digging inside a small bag of her belongings, she found her miko garments in tatters. The robes were shredded almost brutally and were hardly fit for dressing into.

Pulling the robe up toward her face, she gazed remorsefully through a rather large hole ripped through the right shoulder of the defeated fabric. Gazing out to the other side of the room, Rei frowned in confusion as an intruder strode rather casually through the door. Tossing the robe back on the table, she rubbed at her eyes in disbelief.

Recognizing the proud upward tilt of her head, the overly serious stance, and the conspicuously expensive designer heels, Rei's mind outright refused the most obvious answer to her approaching question.

"Who?" Was all she could afford to stammer out.

Minako stopped beside the door completely, the other woman's gaze halting her firmly in place. She hadn't considered how difficult this was going to be. Up until that very moment, perhaps she was still so caught up in the fight with Mio, the idol hadn't let it hit her just how long it had really been. And with every day that had gone by since then, how had Minako forgotten how much she had been putting this off?

Taking off her glasses and placing them into the handbag under her arm, Minako took a deep breath and bravely made her way toward the hospital bed. She caught sight of the bandages then, a few on Rei's face, one on her arm, another peaking out under her collar. A surge of concern burst free from her cool exterior and the idol pursed her lips in exhasperation.

"What did you expect to accomplish, just rushing head-long into danger by yourself?" She blurted tactlessly, the well-rehearsed cheer and politeness of the idol shattering ungracefully into a thousand pieces upon the floor.

Rei, fumbling out of her surprised stupor, gave Minako a familiar scowl.

"Almost six months have passed, but I can still see you're the same as ever," she said, stepping back for the much needed distance. Her fists clenched at her sides almost instinctively and the miko turned her gaze toward the windows. "I don't need your words of dissaproval."

Practically choking on the tension between them, Minako swallowed hard and turned her attention to the tattered robes dangling limply from the table.

"You weren't going to try and walk out of here, alone, wearing those, were you?"

Rei merely crossed her arms and glared at a pair of birds making their hasty escape toward the horizon. She knew their may have been a chance at seeing Minako during Usagi's upcoming wedding, and that much she had been anticipating, but this was far too much.

Opening her handbag, Minako plucked out a pair of clothing tucked tightly inside.

"Hopefully you'll find this suitable enough," she said to Rei, holding out the offering firmly, "at least until I take you back to the hotel with me."

Her gaze returned to the idol. "You're _insane_, Minako," Rei fumed.

Refusing to back down, the unspoken challenge between them filling the idol with a fiery resolve, Minako approached further. "Take this as a temporary truce, until we have the right time to sort through-" She hesitated, the idol's words cut off violently and left to die on the thick air between them.

"Sort out what?" Rei demanded, trying to cling to her last bit of dignity.

Faltering, Minako turned away as her carefully formed script of reason dissipated into nothingness. Her outstretched hand pulled back, and her grip on the clothing wavered.

As the small offering threatened to slip onto the floor, Rei took a quick step to catch them in her hands. Slipping the folded clothing under her arm carefully, the miko gave a rather defeated look toward Minako's retreating hand. It was ironic to her, that in spite all the time and distance between them, some things between the two seemed to always stay the same.

"I'm glad everyone's alright," Rei croaked out weakly, trying to fill the silence. "I've been worried."

Minako nodded, glancing warily over to the bundle of clothes under Rei's arm. "Everything is back to the way it should be."

Catching the idol's gaze, the two silently agreed on a truce, if only temporarily.

----

"You are enjoying this far too much."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Minako denied swiftly, readjusting her cap as the two exited through the large hospital doors.

Picking at the sleeve of her borrowed shirt, the title "_Aino Minako Super Special!_" emblazoned across the fabric with an array of brightly colored stars and hearts, assaulting the miko's eyes in all their vivid splendor. Glancing up, she practically tripped backwards as Usagi's ecstatic face smeared against the tiny windows of the car in front of her. Rei grimaced and stopped her advance, noticing the other two women squeezed into the vehicle as well.

Turning back as she realized that Rei had stopped following her, Minako stifled back a frown. Rei seemed to shrink almost inexplicably before her, as Minako fought back the urge to drag her along by the arm; watching the willful and proud woman before her falter so visibly was nothing less than unnerving.

"It won't be so bad, you know," Minako offered carefully, weathering the stoic expression Rei was struggling to keep. "They're your friends, Rei-chan. That's why we came to pick you up, together."

Rei's gaze turned to her then, the weight of her unspoken question pining the idol into place.

_And what about you?_

Suddenly, Rei had barely a second to react as Usagi had launched herself from the car and into a fierce tackle-hug.

"Rei-chan!" She squealed, the enthusiastic girl attempting to squeeze the remaining life from Rei.

The miko sighed, flailing her arms lamely in defeat.

----

_The small, fluffy plush toy in Rei's hands stared up at her eagerly. Of course, she recognized Minako's signature mascot almost as instantly as the gift had sprung from the idol's handbag, the overwhelming onslaught of cuteness practically engulfing her whole._

_Minako had simply given her an odd look and plucked it from her things, gazing at the miko with a strange mix of humor and hesitation._

_"What's this for?" Rei asked plainly, poking at the toy's bulbous stuffed nose._

_"It's a limited edition design," Minako admitted, leaning over to adjust it's small, flamboyant cap, "just for the upcoming tour dates in England."_

_Rei's attention spun to the other woman, a clearly dumfounded expression spread across her face in spite of herself. Fortunately, Minako was too preoccupied with the folds on her skirt to give notice. Rei looked away quickly and struggled for a calm composure._

_"So then," the miko finally managed to stammer out, finally setting aside the adorable plush toy. "When will you leave?"_

_Minako merely shrugged._

_"Some time tomorrow afternoon, I suppose," she muttered blandly, leaning against the tree behind them, "the new choreographer is expecting me by Thursday..."_

_Rei stared down to the grass beneath her._

_Gathering only a sidelong glance and an undecipherable grunt from the other woman, Minako translated Rei's usual vague, guarded manner easily enough. Leaning over, she steeled herself and took the miko's hand in her own._

_"Stop with the despondent faces, Rei," Minako admonished teasingly, "it's just a few small venues, you know I'll be back before the month is over. Even though I'm sure you'd like to keep me for yourself-"_

_Gaining a ripe scowl from Rei, who grabbed a hold on her hand fiercely at the statement, the miko straightened her shoulders in response. "As if I'd want to have such a pesky pop idol chasing me around all day! You're troublesome enough as it is, Minako."_

_The two glared at each other in humor, barely managing to keep a straight face before breaking into laughter._

_An impulse fought it's way easily past Rei's defenses, and she hesitantly leaned across the small patch of grass between them. Gathering her friend into a tentative but heartfelt embrace, something rare but honest and almost never instigated by the miko herself._

_Minako managed a wide, smug grin and accepted the hug. The afternoon had certainly turned out wonderfully, she realized._

----

"This was an awful idea."

Ami sighed, gazing hopelessly to the traffic in front of her. The afternoon swell of cars had amassed into a grid-locked leviathan, it's body reaching past the seemingly vast horizon.

"We could've taken the bus," Rei muttered from her incarceration between Usagi and Minako. "Or the train."

"There wasn't a choice," Minako piped up defensively. "We came straight away from the battle, and the only options were Ami's rental or the motorbike."

"Bike?" Rei asked, an eyebrow quirked in curiosity.

"_Anyway_," Minako continued, completely ignoring the miko's stare, "we were in a hurry. It was the best option available."

"At this rate, I could just walk back to Hikawa..."

Usagi squirmed beside her, making Rei involuntarily shove into the increasingly agitated idol.

"But you only just left the hospital, Rei-chan, what if something happened and you _fainted_ or were _mugged_ by-"

"Don't worry, Usagi-chan," Minako reassured calmly, blatantly ignoring the blistering scrutiny from Rei, "she's already agreed to stay with me until the wedding."

"I've done nothing of the sort!" Rei cried, trying to squirm further away from the idol and failing miserably. The two stared defiantly at each other, each struggling to sit just a little bit taller and gain the higher position of indignance.

"Those two haven't even spoken in practically six months," Makoto whispered to Ami, who looked almost alarmed, "you'd think a little distance would make the heart grow fonder, or something."

Ami glanced up to the rearview mirror as the two quarreled further. "I'm sure it's just a complex situation."

Makoto shrugged, watching the mass of unmoving cars around them. "The wedding is complex," she argued, "those two are just impossible."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two. 

----

_In that moment when she had drawn Minako closer, when Rei had felt the arms around her tighten and the warm breath of laughter linger on her cheek, she had felt something change. It wasn't anything she could have clearly defined then, or even some time afterwards. The day had been unextraordinary, it's events already half-forgotten and would undoubtedly blend itself into the bland colors of Rei's memory. But when the young woman in her arms pulled back, only enough to for Rei to catch her smile, strong hands still lingering on Rei's waist, she had felt something powerful stir inside her._

_Had she never considered this before, the desire burrowed deep within her chest, only to bloom forth and shatter, bursting through every inch of her as Rei felt herself closing the gap between them. Had Minako moved, she wondered? Surely, the hands gripping her never once loosened their hold, the strength and warmth of Minako's embrace keeping her together as their lips met._

_Underneath the peaceful shelter of the garden trees, away from the city and the world, the two barely stirred. Afraid to move, to break the spell between them, Rei gave in. Minako's lips pressed lightly against her own but within her everything burned and blazed down into a single, glorious moment._

_And as quick as it had occurred, the two pulled awkwardly away. Their eyes wandered everywhere but at each other, and as they rose quietly from their spot underneath the tree, Rei tried desperately for words. Surely, if she herself had felt so strongly, Minako must've felt at least something. Anything._

_"You'll see me off at the airport tomorrow, won't you?"_

_"Of course I will."_

----

Shuffling uncomfortably into Minako's hotel suite, battered robes bundled sadly underneath her arm, Rei ruefully followed the idol inside. Caught off guard at the expensive and rather spacious accommodations, she mentally chastised herself for forgetting just who she was in the company of. These past short months had seen Rei wandering between shrines like a vagabond, shoved into rooms comparable to the size of a modestly spacious closet, with barely the space for a real bed, let alone a futon. Meanwhile, Minako was still the outrageously popular celebrity, leading a profession far greater in wealth and luxury.

"Seems a bit much for just one person," Rei finally mumbled, glancing into the next room and what seemed to be a parlor. Eyeing a rather large, plush sofa, she decided it would suit her needs well enough for the evening.

"I made a few extra arrangements," Minako responded mildly, content to watch Rei's expressions as she wandered through the suite.

Setting her robes aside on a nearby table, Rei turned and gave the idol a dubious stare in response. "You must have been pretty confident that I'd follow you here."

"On the contrary. It was my idea, _Mars_," came an intruding voice from the kitchen. Artemis peered up happily at their guest as he scurried his way over to greet her.

"We missed your company," he added with a smile.

"Hello, Artemis." Rei kneeled down to greet the small plush cat. "I missed you too."

Grateful for his quick attempt at intervention, Minako allowed herself a small grin. Of course Artemis had suggested the idea. After Minako had received Usagi's pleading, cryptic phone calls, she had been sent into a whirlwind tirade of useless insanity and worry. Which outwardly, merely translated to gripping the fake leather armrests of her plane seat and burning a fierce, ruthless hole into the upholstery with her eyes. Artemis, the most elite translator of Minako's vague, deceptive, and often stubbornly defiant nature, had offered the easiest and most logical route to subduing her worry. Although he had merely suggested that she check in on the miko at the clinic, and possibly look in on her progress until recovery, Minako's acutely adept skill in creative planning had succeeded in securing what she had considered the most logical course of action.

Force Rei to succumb to Minako's higher sense of reason, take the fallen former-senshi under her care, and coerce her into a complete and successful recovery of physical health.

Apparently, the only thing that could penetrate Minako's self-imposed exile was the concept of Rei's sudden, very near-death. Now, as she watched the miko pace uncomfortably from room to room, feeling undoubtably as awkward and confused as Minako herself, the idol could only begin to chastise herself even more for her absence.

Pushing back the unwanted feeling of dread at would undoubtably occur, now that she had finally committed herself to addressing their situation, Minako started with something simple.

She put on a kettle of hot tea.

Catching Rei's attention, the miko eventually conceded to the unspoken invitation and planted herself in a chair. Modest in size but unusually well accommodated for a hotel kitchen, an expensive oak dining table nestled itself at the end. With two small mugs in hand, Minako shortly followed suit, placing the tea in between them and settling across the table. The young women shared an uneasy silence, each gazing solemnly into their tea and avoiding both conversation and each other. Finally, Minako managed some semblance of a conversation starter.

"So I've heard you've been in Kyoto."

Rei nodded tersely, raising her mug to inspect its contents.

Minako quirked her lips. "Did you find what you were searching for, out there?" she asked, overwhelmed by her own anxiousness.

Rei looked at her then, her brow twitching at the barely noticeable but accusatory tone of Minako's voice. Who was she to be interrogated by Minako, of all people?

"_Did you_?" She responded, setting the tea back down in ire. She hadn't intended on being so up front quite so quickly, though Rei had never been known for her fathomless depths of patience. If Minako had the audacity to just waltz back into their lives at her given whim and leisure, then she was only reaping what she had sown.

Leaning back into her chair, Minako sipped her tea and took the force of the words with a wince.

"No," she replied.

"Hmph," Rei scoffed, taking a large, angry swill of tea.

Meeting the defiant gaze of the woman across the table, Minako hardened herself as much as her own biting insecurity would allow. "When we were out their fighting today," she said, choosing her words with scrutiny, "and I picked up that sword, I felt something that I had never experienced as a senshi, not once even back then." She paused, watching Rei's expression carefully as the miko listened with a look of unbridled skepticism.

"I wasn't quite sure how that sword was going help us, or even if the three of us alone could regain what we all thought was lost. But when I picked up that sword, Rei," she continued, her gaze wandering toward her tight grip on the tea cup, "I could feel myself regaining the powers of Venus once more, as well as another."

"What do you mean?" Rei asked warily, leaning over the table.

"I don't know if the others could feel it, and I didn't ask, but I could sense another power pushing me onwards. It was so completely different than my own, so wild and forceful, I wasn't even sure I could control it."

"When the time had come," she continued, "and I reached for the blade of Venus, I didn't expect another in my hands. But for the first time, when the two forces pushed through me, I felt more complete than I had in all the time I've been absent."

Feeling suddenly vulnerable, which Minako had always hated above all else, the idol turned away. Waiting for a response, any kind of response from Rei, she forced her expression as neutral is it would allow her.

As for Rei, she was able to guess on what Minako was referring to. It was true, that back then the two had shared powers before, though for completely different reasons. Laying helpless on the rigid hospital bed, she herself had prayed and wished for the safety of the others, for Usagi, and even for Minako.

The miko sighed. Certainly, Minako had never made things easy, and it seemed that her own feelings of hurt and disdain wouldn't remain as simple either.

"Can't we just go back," Minako offered softly, gaze still transfixed to the other side of the room, "to the way we used to be, Rei?"

Rei practically sputtered into her tea. Feeling incredibly ill at the offer, as if something had suddenly squirmed its way into her guts and began to feast angrily at her insides, she rose from the table. She hadn't been ready for this earlier in the day, and she certainly wasn't ready for this now.

"It's been a long day, Minako," Rei said blandly, the strength in her voice falling morosely to its demise. "I'm going to rest."

"Wait-" Minako croaked out uselessly at Rei's retreat.

"Thank you for the tea."

Leaving Minako in the other room, she was too exhausted to do much but crawl onto the inviting sofa and force herself into sleeping, emotions be damned. Whatever the idol expected of her, and whatever was to become of their friendship, as it waited almost six months before, it could wait again.

Smiling weakly as she felt Artemis bound onto the cushion beside her, Rei attempted to ignore the aches and bruises of her body and hoped for at least a few hours of decent rest that night. Regardless of her situation, Usagi was still counting on her friends to help with the wedding, and Rei wasn't about to let her down.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three. 

----

_The feeling, tiny flecks of anxious fire racing from the pit of her stomach to the fair color and heat rising to her cheeks, rose fiercely within her as Minako shifted for a better view. Her bedmate, asleep with what she could only identify as the most peaceful and absurdly adorable expression ever seen, lay closely beside her. _

_She could feel Rei begin to stir. She awoke slowly, stubbornly fighting the daylight's push for recognition as Rei would anything else, her body sliding closer._

_An amused chuckle slid its way from Minako's lips on its own accord, the idol humoring Rei's unspoken request as she moved closer, lying halfway on top of her in an unabashedly possessive display of affection._

_Minako felt the hot, steady breath against her neck and the firm, assuring lips that followed. Rei's nature, fiercely passionate and barely restrained, would elude her, tempering the cool indifference in her chest with white-hot intensity.  
_

_ She felt Rei's hands start, rather boldly, to move up her body. Before Minako could start to comment on this, her elbow slipped and she fell back onto the bed. Something underneath her folded with a stark, crisp crunch, poking at her exposed skin. With a tiny pout and the mood broken, Minako grabbed anxiously for the offending object._

_The paper crane, or what used to be an intricately folded and delicate piece of work, now lay in a barely recognizable state of ruin._

_Touching Minako's hand, Rei began to comfort her. A look of horror stopped them both, Minako reeling back onto the bed, now cold and disgustingly sterile, as something behind her restrained the idol's wrists._

_She attempted to struggle. Cold needles pressed themselves into Minako's arms as she tried to free herself, long wires and tubes extending into nowhere pulled her down, made her weak._

_Rei tried desperately to pull her free, but they weren't alone. Men and women, an almost innumerable mass pushing their way around them, violently fighting each other for the right to see her, Aino Minako, grabbed at Rei and dragged her away._

_Fighting, screaming Minako's name, and trying desperately to reach out as she was gripped by angry hands and taken away, Minako could only watch._

_Her head pounded as the needles pressed harder into Minako's skin, and as the hands started to grip her-_

Minako fell off the bed.

Rei, who had been searching the kitchen, jerked away from the cabinets as the loud thud burst from the other room. After a few ungraceful stomps and the slam of the bathroom door, Rei shut the cabinet and sat down.

After a long, agonizing attempt to rest, and a prolonged, silent argument with both her battered body and the unforgiving sofa, she had forgone sleep. Time had already begun a brisk march through morning and she had decided to get a glass of water.

Perhaps, she thought, rubbing at her eyes, a large cup of coffee would be more suitable.

Eventually, while Minako was still somewhere in the bathroom, the room service arrived. Rei had accepted the cart with a curt politeness and was left to inspect it's offerings.

Sitting back down to the table with an admirably large mug of espresso, the miko leaned back with a sigh, preparing to drown away her aches and pains with one angry swallow. Apparently Rei had been too involved in the idea of caffiene, for she hadn't even noticed Minako's entrance.

Promptly left with a small glass of orange juice, a mysterious bowl of broth, and a confused scowl, the miko gazed at the retreating coffee in defeat.

"Good morning, " Rei grumbled.

Minako merely quirked her lips, wholly invested in the contents of her overly-expensive cellular device and a vitamin-protein health shake.

Taking a small, petulant sip of orange-juice-that-wasn't-coffee, Rei tried unsuccessfully to pay Minako no attention. After several moments of poking at the broth with her spoon, she finally sighed and gave in to her obnoxious curiosity.

"You didn't sleep well," the miko stated more than questioned, taking another sip of broth.

Minako set down her cellular. Her first strategy at getting Rei to open up had been a horrible, suicidal rocket-ride into oblivion. However, Aino Minako was still as tenaciously determined as ever.

"Neither did you," the idol responded, noting Rei's disheveled appearance. "I never said you had to use the sofa, Rei. If you hadn't stormed off last night-"

"If _you_ could stop being so arrogant-"

Taking something form the pocket of her robe, Minako set it onto the table.

She sputtered into her orange juice.

----

_Three bus rides, two hours, and six blocks later, Rei arrived at the airport._

_The building was a barely contained ocean of people, its ebb almost carrying her away as she struggled past the crowds. Fighting through the currents, she missed the terminal almost four times before accidentally being pushed into Usagi._

_"Rei-chan!" She squealed, the miko gripping onto her for support, looking wild and half-crazed. The small group of friends huddled closer as Rei finally arrived, her late, abrupt arrival still welcome as time continued pushing the lines forward._

_"We were worried you wouldn't make it," Makoto said, relieved._

_Suddenly very invested in the intricate patterns on her luggage, the idol adjusted her baseball cap. "So it seems you found your way, after all," she scolded blandly._

_Leaning away from Usagi, Rei attempted a comforting smile. "Only thanks to your horrible directions," she joked._

_Minako had looked smaller then, almost, as if the waves of people were the mouth of a leviathan, waiting to swallow her whole. Hidden under large, expensive glasses, hat and a jacket that promised to devour her thin figure in its folds, Rei felt her chest tighten. The idea, the sheer thought that Minako, of all people, appeared so vulnerable felt like an assault. _

_A massive roar of people suddenly pushed past the small group, pressing everyone close together. Off-balance, Minako gripped Rei's sleeve._

_Grabbing onto Minako, Rei leaned closer. The two immediately stiffened, shoulders pressed together, arms entwined. Even as close as this, it was hard to tell what Minako was thinking, Rei noticed with frustration. After an entire night of restless sleep, half a day of mindless wandering, and a phone call as brief as half a breath, this was how the two would part. Rei felt heated, anxious, frustrated, and as the announcements for Minako's flight began, wrongfully helpless._

_Slowly releasing her grip on the miko's arm and grabbing her luggage, Minako gave a quick farewell to the others._

_Waiting on Rei, she adjusted her cap again._

_"Minako," she finally said, her voice trampled by the crowd. Pulling something from her wrist, Rei shoved it in Minako's hands._

_Minako tried to respond as the people continued to push past them, pulling her closer toward the terminal. Gripping onto the familiar bracelet tightly, its small, worn beads inscribing Rei's name, her mouth was dry._

_A large family anxiously attempted to move around her and when she could no longer see Usagi or Makoto, Minako could barely hear her voice again._

"I'll wait for you."

----


End file.
